Author: hhns

While Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are steadily seen about town, and overseas, looking happy as can be, there are allegedly hints that the relationship is having a deleterious affect on the rapper/producer’s career. Sources are saying that too many Yeezy appearances in gossip magazines and reality shows with his woman are not a good look.

Says the New York Daily News:

But a source tells Confidenti@l that West’s popularity is waning and he has become tainted, with too many appearances on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” pictures in the celebrity weeklies and a girlfriend unwelcome in the world of high fashion.

Once gracing the pages of VMAN and GQ, his face is now splattered all over whatever Kardashian is promoting.

“His personal life is overpowering his music,” an industry source says. “Every time he plays, people are wondering if Kim is going to be there. It’s not a good thing for him, especially if he wants to be taken seriously.”

The story also says that West was offered at least a couple of high paying New Year’s Eve hosting gigs in Las Vegas and Miami. However, the “Dark Fantasy” rapper declined when he was not allowed to bring Kardashian along as a co-host.

Also mentioned as a sign of West’s waning popularity, many fans allegedly walked out during his 12.12.12 concert performance at Madison Square Garden.

Allegedly, Yeezy is aware of the problems. “He has been meeting with top-level music executives seeking advice,” said the NY Daily News’ source. “He’s not happy with the direction things have been going.”

One exec West has been speaking to is Lyor Cohen, who recently resigned from his last post as CEO/Chairman of the Warner Music Group. There is speculation that Cohen plans to start a management firm, possible with Kevin Liles and Jon Moscowitz. Representing Kanye West would be a major coup.

This NY Daily News story is clearly reaching (it cites heads dissing Yeezy kilt skirt as another sign of his decline), but there are many who aren’t too enthused by the rapper’s relationship. Tell us where you stand, or if you don’t even care, in the comments.

T.I. says his new track is a diss – but doesn’t say towards whom.

In a recent interview on Shade 45 with DJ Drama, an animated and heated T.I. discussed his song “Addresses,” which appears to be a diss track.

“It was direct,” said Tip of the diss. “Now, the thing about who it was directed to – it benefits him more than me for me to put that out there. So I made that directly in a way that only they will know. Therefore, so they cannot get any shine off of it.”

The Atlanta rapper surmised that others would step into the fray to bolster their reputations. “I’ma make a prediction… There shall be a few rappers that feel they will be benefited by accepting that burden, and they will step into that line of fire, knowing it is not them, but they will feel it is better for them to step into that line of fire, be hit and receive the benefits that come with being hit by a T.I. bullet. It’ll be the greatest thing that ever happened to them in their lives.”

T.I. continued, addressing his unnamed foe. “It brings me great pain to say, had it not been for their outright, direct disrespect and disregard for the G code, and what is known to all to be real… they lack all integrity. Trap Music is a genre that I created, homes! Before me, it was Lil Jon, Crunk Music, and OutKast! You don’t fit in nowhere! The closest thing that come to what you do is what I created, homie. So for you to come out your face bad about me, dog, when I ain’t never do nothin’ but try and help you and niggas like you? …And you tryin’ to come at me that way? …You deserve everything coming to you.”

Odd Future have been accused of beating up a fan at a show in San Antonio, Texas on December 8, TMZ reports. Chassan Rasagi, 17, jumped on stage and was allegedly attacked by the group after having been thrown back and forth between the stage and the crowd. According to TMZ, Rasagi “suffered lacerations on his head, scratches, and burns to his body during the melee” and “suffered two seizures.” He plans to sue Odd Future. TMZ also reports that “some people in the crowd claim Rasagi threw the first punch.”

TMZ has posted video of the incident, which can be seen below.

Tyler, the Creator Tweeted about the San Antonio show, “This San Antonio Show Is So Fucking Beautiful Got Damn,” “I Thought I Was Gonna Die During RELLA Seriously Haha,” “This Show Is Beautiful. Off Top Coming Here For My Tour,” and “SAN ANTONIO WAS SIC.” Mike G Tweeted, “San Antonio got rowdy…”

Odd Future have a long history of run-ins with trouble at their shows. Last fall, Left Brain wasaccused of slapping a photographer in the face during a set at the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. In March, a Boston performance was shut down by police, in May 2011, an in-store set in Boston caused a “near-riot” and a show in Detroit ended in a bottle-throwing fight. In December 2011, Tyler, the Creator was arrested for vandalism at a show in Los Angeles after he allegedly damaged sound equipment, and police were called after the crowd rushed into the street. (Tyler ended up paying $8,000 to the club.)

Shame on a rapper … who doesn’t pay a hot Dutch singer for 14 tracks — this according to the singer who’s suing RZA from the Wu Tang Clan, claiming he stiffed her out of serious dough.

TMZ obtained a lawsuit, filed by Dutch singer Thea Van Seijaen … who most famously provided the vocals on RZA’s track “Baby Boy,” which was featured in Jet Li’s film “Unleashed.”

In her lawsuit, TVS says she SHOULD’VE been paid bank for her work on that song (and 13 others she co-wrote and performed on from 2004 to 2011) … but instead got a fraction of what she’s due.

TVS claims … for years she was afraid to stand up to RZA and demand her cash because she feared he would blackball her from the music industry. After all, he is a pretty powerful dude.

Now, TVS is asking the court to force RZA to fork over her share of the royalties for the 14 tracks … which could mean big bucks.

Sources close to RZA tell TMZ … “Unfortunately this is a groundless lawsuit by someone RZA had helped get off the streets, lent a helping hand to, and now thinks he’s an easy target to mark looking for money.”

 

Super producer Dr. Dre is reportedly trying to hang onto as much of that hard earned cash as possible by seeking tax shelter in Ireland. Recently named the highest paid musician of 2012, Dre has based three of his companies out of Ireland in order to help reduce tax liability.

The Irish Examiner reports that the three companies are located in Clonakilty, County Cork, with an overseeing company called O’Mahony Donnelly, which allows him to take advantage of the tax breaks of Ireland’s low corporate rate.

The “Forgot About Dre” hitmaker has apparently not forgotten that there are ways to get around U.S. tax policies, and he’s not the only one. The founder of the Irish firm, Mr. O’Mahony said that a lot of companies are seeking refuge in Ireland.

“The low corporate tax rate is a big factor in attracting companies to set up in Ireland, but there are many other reasons. Ireland is the only country in the Eurozone with English as a primary language and we are still known to have a great workforce, top quality of life and business environment,” O’Mahony said.

The Irish-based Beats Electronics Holding Ltd. owns Beats Electronics Services Ltd. and Beats Electronics International Ltd., but the overall parent company is still based in California. Ever since the producer started his Beats by Dre headphones line, the company has expanded rapidly. ‘O’Mahony said that his firm has established a niche with multinational companies like Dr. Dre’s Beats by Dre line.

“Since I established O’Mahony Donnelly here in 2000 we’ve worked with a number of multinational corporations to get them set up in Ireland. This has become a great niche for our firm,” he said.

Maybe Dr. Dre’s savvy business practices are a bigger contributing factor to his rise to the top of Forbes’ list — either way those headphones are nuthin’ but a G thing whether worn in Ireland or America.

Former Warner Music CEO, Lyor Cohen has been rumored to be advising Kanye West, and is also launching his own management company.

In September, long time Warner Music Group Chairman and CEO, Lyor Cohen stepped down from his roles at WMG in order to pursue other ventures.  Seems he may have found his next project as the veteran executive is rumored to be advising Kanye West on his upcoming deals and latest tour, and also is set to launch his own talent management company.

The NY Post reports,via HHDX, that Cohen has been seen around Chicago, and a source says that he is working with the G.O.O.D. Music CEO, “he’s 100% in Kanye’s camp.”

In addition to advising West, the former Warner CEO is reportedly launching his own management company that will put 360 multiplatform deals in place for artists.  Making his team even more formidable, Cohen has reached out to WBR executive Kevin Liles and former WBR chief Todd Moscowitz to join him.

It will be interesting to see what sort of relationship develops between him and Kanye, and if we will see the Chicago rapper move into a more Jay-Z-esque business role.

Ma$e is finally off Bad Boy and says “you gon’ cut your arm off to get free” from Diddy’s label.

Many may believe that Diddy and Ma$e ended their ties long ago but, as Ma$e explained, he was just recently allowed to walk away from Bad Boy after 16 years. Ma$e also made it known that he will likely not sign with another label soon, likening this ordeal to a break up in a relationship.

“I’ve been in that contract for 16 years,” he explained. “Yeah, the other day he let me out of it, so big shout-outs to Diddy. I guess he woke up feeling good and he wanted to do something good.”

Ma$e also expressed his hesitation to rejoin a major label.

“At this point, I don’t really want to be under nobody from the aspect of being tied in a long, long contract,” he added. “It’s kinda like breaking up; you don’t want to jump into a new relationship.”

Ma$e went on to acknowledge positive things about Diddy, even saying he’d “want to go to war with Puff.” However, he also said Diddy blocked his move to G-Unit years ago because he wanted too much money.

“You know how Puff is,” Ma$e explained. “I love him but you gon’ cut your arm off to get free.”

More from the interview can be seen below.

T.I. played Santa Claus when he visited children at the Detroit Medical Center’sChildren Hospital with HOT 107.5. Armed with a bag full of toys, the King, along with Detroit Lions star Ndamukong Suh, passed out presents to the tiny tots and wished them a merry Christmas.

The Atlanta rapper recently teamed up with a military veterans’ charity to launch Give Like a King, a new global humanitarian campaign to benefit homeless war veterans.

In just six days, Tip will give his fans an early Christmas gift when his eighth album Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head arrives in stores.

 

 

Last week, the world of Hip Hop was shocked to learn thatRick Ross cancelled the remainder of his Maybach Music Group tour over threats of gang violence. Now, in a recent report from TMZ, it appears that police are investigating into the matter.The Chicago Police Department is beginning to investigate the threats levied at the Carol City rapper by the notorious Chicago-based gang the Gangster Disciples. Prior to the North Carolina leg of Rozay’s tour, the GD’s posted a video threatening the rapper’s life if he were to perform.According to the video, the GD’s are demanding that Ross pay them for likening himself to the gang’s founder, Larry Hoover, in his song “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast).” They are also claiming that he ripped off their six-pointed star gang symbol on the cover of his mixtape The Black Bar Mitzvah.As of now, the police are investigating into the video and the parties who made the threats in it. DX will keep you updated as more information comes to light.

Rick Ross has broken his silence on the cancelation of his recent tour, which was reportedly due to threats from local gangs. During an interview with 99 Jamz, Ricky Rozay cleared up rumors that he was afraid of countering the gangs. He said that the tour promoter, Shawn Gee, wasn’t communicating with him about canceling shows, so he decided to pull the plug on the second leg of the Maybach Music Group tour to “take away” the power.”I canceled the rest of the tour due to the promoter was really not handling his business. He canceled a date of mine. I was going to Tuscon, Arizona and I was really a few hours outside of the market when I heard. I believe it was Tuscon, this was a week and a half ago,” he said. “And I let the dude know how we move and just to communicate a little better. So I woke up and realized that two more dates had been canceled. I felt like that was some power I needed to take away from homie, so I canceled the rest of the dates.”He referred to some life advice from Larry Hoover, stating that there are halfway gangsters who are comfortable around others but fold when situations escalate. “It was never due to any threats,” he said. “I’m a certified man. I’m a boss. Everybody need to understand, gangsters move in silence. In situations like that, I remember something that an old school Dade County gangster told me a long time ago: any dude can stand in the crowd with 30, 40 dudes. Everybody real, trill, everybody bout that life, everybody gangster. But when them choppers come out, everybody fold.” The MMG boss also touched on his beef with Young Jeezyat the 2012 BET Awards, claiming that he tried to choke him. He established that it’s “nothing personal,” but that he felt he needed to handle the situation based on past experiences.”This is nothing personal to me. At the BET Awards, it basically boiled down to me running across Young Jeezy, he had five security guards in front of him, five policeman behind him. When we crossed paths, I said what’s up. As soon as he said what’s up, I tried to choke him. His security guards held me up, whoever the big black dude is with the bumps on his face, he should give that dude something special for Christmas. He really should. It wasn’t a big deal to me. I went and performed, it wasn’t nothing personal.”It’s not personal, but if I see Young Jeezy again, will I try to choke him?” he continued. “I don’t know. That’s an option. If I seen 50 Cent, is it personal? Not at all. But it’s an option. [It’s personal] because there were certain lines that were already crossed.”

After being nominated earlier this year, Public Enemy is officially set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.According to Rolling Stone, the veteran Hip Hop group joins Heart, Randy Newman, Rush, Albert King and Donna Summer in the class of 2013. Additionally, Lou Adler and Quincy Jones will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.With their induction, Public Enemy becomes the fourt Hip Hop act to be included in the Hall of Fame. Previously,Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Public Enemyand Run-DMC were honored with inductions.The induction ceremony is slated to be held on April 18, 2013 at the Nokia Theater and will broadcast on HBO on May 18th.

The offspring of N.W.A. and Run-DMC linked up for their own reality series titled “Seeds of Hip Hop.”

Taking notes from their fathers’ entertainment careers, sons of N.W.A. and Run-DMC are shopping a reality show to major networks.

According to TMZ, the show will be titled Seeds of Hip Hop and star Dr. Dre‘s son Curtis Young, Eazy E‘s son Eric Lynn Wright Jr., MC Ren‘s son Anthony Dunbar, E-40‘s son Droop-E and Jam Master Jay‘s son Jason Mizell.

The show is reportedly created by music producer D’Extra Wiley (II D Extreme) and will follow the 20-somethings as they “make it on their own — while trying to escape the shadows of their famous dads.”

Networks currently being shopped the project include VH1, TV-One, Fuse and BET. Production is scheduled to begin in a month.

Atlanta Hip-Hop star T.I. is launching a new global humanitarian campaign, aimed at supporting homeless veterans.

T.I. will launch the “Give Like A King” campaign this Friday (December 14) in Bankhead, to announce the campaign.

The rap star will explain how he teamed with the Veterans Empowerment Organization (VEO), to create the information campaign, to galvanize millions of fans, to address the needs of homeless veterans.

During the press conference, which is slated to last for an hour, T.I. will explain his strategy to facilitate housing and supportive services for veterans around the country.

According to the Veterans Affairs Administration, more than 300,000 veterans go homeless on any given night.

The VEO is in the organization that helps provide shelter, food and support services for homeless veterans.

“We have to have someone else’s back, not just our own,” T.I. said in a statement.

The “Give Like A King” campaign will consist of radio, television, Internet, print and Billboard advertising.

The “Give Like A King” press conference will take place from 12-1pm at the offices of the VEO of Georgia.

Outkast rapper Big Boi will celebrate the holidays by giving back to the local Atlanta community, with a scholarship giveaway and a scavenger hunt.

Big Boi’s nonprofit, The Big Kidz Foundation (BKF), will celebrate at the Microsoft Store in the Lenox Square Mall, where the scavenger hunt will take place.

Big Boi has gathered over 40 area students and several special guests, who will help search for holiday items inside of participating stores of the Lenox Square Mall.

The scavenger hunt will end with a celebration inside of the Microsoft Store, where Big Boi will give a student named Briana Cook, The Renee Patton Scholarship.

The scavenger hunt will take place on Thursday, December 13 from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM.

Representatives for the Los Angeles Police Department have issued an apology to the family of the Notorious B.I.G., over the unexpected release of the slain rapper’s autopsy report.

Captain Billy Hayes issued a statement in regards to the autopsy, which revealed that B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was shot four times, with one of the bullets ripping through his colon, left lung and heart.

B.I.G. was rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital in full cardiac arrest and despite attempts to revolve the rapper, he died shortly after arriving at the hospital on March 9, 1997.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the autopsy was released prematurely due to “an administrative error,” the LAPD said in the statement.

“Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family (Friday) night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release” said Captain Billy Hayes, head of the Robbery/Homicide Division. “Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or other people with information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case.”

A security hold on the autopsy and other documents relating to B.I.G.’s murder were released after a security hold on the 23 page report was lifted last week.

The LAPD claims they are looking for new leads in the murder case of Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in front of the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.

His rival, Tupac Shakur, was shot on the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996. He died from his wounds on September 13.

Both murders are unsolved.